Torn
by PrettyLittleKiller99
Summary: Fang and Max haven't spoken for 2 years, they've said stuff that hurt the other. It's Valentine's day, Ella's birthday. Will they put aside their differences for the sake of the flock, or will something else mend their relationship? Character Betrayal. T for action and languages. FAX.
1. Cookies Heal All

**A/N: Ok so here's the dealio. I was planning on publishing this in time for Valentine's Day, but I just had an awesome idea for the story and I couldn't wait any longer. So here's a valentine story a month early! Enjoy!**

**-Gabby Gonz**

**Disclaimer: I own MAXIMUM RIDE! (Just kidding, but you probably already knew that)**

**Max POV**

Valentine's day. The day of love. The day of romance. Which also happens to be my least favorite day of the year. One word: Sappy. Do I really care when and how random strangers on the street propose to their girl/boyfriends? No, I don't.

Oh sorry. Allow me to introduce myself. I Maximum Ride, but Max is fine. I'm 17 years old and I've saved the world multiple times with a little help from my flock. Yes, you heard that right. My flock. We are mutants, experiments made in a sick lab called the School. 98% human, 2% bird. But, we escaped 2 years ago. The flock consists of 6 of us. Me, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy and Angel. Fang and Iggy are 17 and Iggy is blind. Nudge is 14, Gazzy is 12 and Angel is 10. Gazzy and Angel are full siblings while the rest of are, well, family. Just not what you call related. My mother Valencia Martinez is human. She and my half-sister Ella live in Arizona with my father Jeb.

Anyway, I'm not going to bore you with all that stuff, but pretty much we are all living together in a mountain house in Connecticut. That's right 6 kids living rule free. Best part is: not attending school.

My mom and Ella were visiting for the weekend and they had plans. Bad plans. My mom wanted to throw a surprise birthday party for Ella since her 16th birthday was on Valentine's Day and each of us had a job

Nudge was on Ella duty: Keep her out of the house.

Iggy, who just happened to be Ella's boyfriend, along with Angel and Gazzy were on decoration duty.

And that left Fang and I on cookie duty.

"Dr. M. You and I both know Max can't cook." Fang protested. He and I haven't spoken until he, well, left. And how long has that been, 2 years. Almost 3? Gosh! I missed him, my right wing man. But, he decides to leave "for my best" then comes back expecting everything will be all right? Oh no, I don't think so.

We were all sitting in the living room of our ski house. Ella and Nudge were out shopping.

"In Max's defense, she can make cereal." Iggy said. I glared at him. But, he couldn't see me.

"Max, Fang." My mother said addressing the two of us. "It's Ella's birthday. Can you please push you anger aside for just one day and celebrate her birthday?"

"Yea Guys, this is getting real old." Gazzy interjected. I glanced at Fang and he glanced back. I wanted to make up, but I doubt that he was ready to forgive me. Especially after our first attempt at speaking. It was about two months ago:

_Flashback_

"Max, I'm sorry. I really am. I shouldn't have left you. What else do you want me to say?" Fang yelled at me from behind. I glanced back, flapping my wings harder, trying to get further away from my messed up life.

"I don't know, maybe 'I'm sorry for just leaving you to care for the entire flock alone and then replacing you with your clone and then seeing you again, making you think I loved you and the leaving'" I. Was. Pissed. I stopped in mid air, letting myself float in the night sky. Fang was about a foot away from me. "Do you know how I felt? Do you know what you put me through? You left me Fang! You just left me, after all we've been through!" I yelled at him, tears welling up in my eyes.

"I'm sorry." I heard him mumble. And then silence. I knew he was still there though, lingering in the shadows.

I let the words slip before I could stop them.

"Maybe Dylan was right. Maybe he is my perfect other half." I said. Fang reappeared from the shadows and looked me straight in the eyes. Pain. That was the expression I could make out.

"Fang…" I began. But he was already gone.

_End of Flashback_

I felt terrible. I really did. But every time I tried to apologize, he disappeared.

"I'm willing to if you are." I said to him in a whisper. He merely nodded.

"It's settle then. Now, everyone off. The party starts at 9!" Mom said and ran out the door.

"Don't burn the house while we are gone." Iggy said with a smirk.

"Yea, that's our job." Gazzy said. And they too left the house.

I glanced at Fang again. No movement. Well, I guess I'm on my own. I walked into the kitchen and grabbed the recipe off the fridge.

Milk, Eggs, Flour, Vanilla, Sugar and Water. Those were the ingredients. I checked in the fridge to make sure we had everything. Milk, check. Eggs, check. Blah, blah, blah, you get the idea.

After making sure he had everything I got out a bowl and electric mixer.

"Here goes everything!" I said, while plugging in the electric mixer. Thankfully, the house didn't explode.

I continued down the list of steps until I got to the last one. I tasted the batter. Yum! It was perfect,

"Fang! Come be my taste tester!" I yelled. No answer. I walked into the living room. He was sitting on the couch listening to his iPod. I walked over to him and yanked out his ear buds.

"What the hell Max?" He asked. My stomach fluttered when he said my name.

"Both of us are on cookie duty. Come and help me." I said, and walked back to the kitchen, Fang right behind me.

I scooped up a bit of batter.

"Taste it." I said, handing it to him. He gave me a look of disapproval, as if it was poisoned. "Look." I took a big bit of cookie dough. "See. I'm not dead." I said, turning around in circles for him to see. I could've sworn I saw him smile.

He took a spoonful and gagged.

"What?" I asked.

"It's good!" He said.

"Then why'd you spit it out?" I asked, confused. He smirked. "Jerk." I said while playfully punching him on the shoulder. Just like old times.

"Want some more?" I asked, while throwing a handful of cookie dough at him. It landed smack on his chest. Ha ha.

"You did not just do that?" he said.

"And what if I did?" I asked.

"Then I'd be forced to do this." He said, while grabbing a handful of flour. He wouldn't dare. He flung it at me. Oh no he didn't!

"Oh, I see how it is." I said and grabbed an egg and cracked it on his head.

By the end, we looked more like cookies than the cookies themselves. I was on sitting on the floor, Fang and I back to back, laughing hysterically. Just like old times.

"Fang…" I said, realizing this was my chance.

Yea?" He asked.

"Can we talk?" I asked him. He turned around to face me.

"Sure." He mumbled.

"We've been at this for to long." I started off. "I forgive you. I know you left me for the best; it just hurt, a lot. But, all that matters is you're back. That you have been back, I've just been to stupid to make the most off it. I want my best friend back. No, I don't. I want Fang back. My Fang. The one that always made me smile and laugh and cry and-" I was cut off by Fang's lips pressed against mine. It was a sweet kiss. Not to aggressive, yet not gentle either. We broke apart after a while.

He smiled at me and I smiled back. He stood up and offered me his hand.

"Now, " he said. "Considering we used all the cookie dough on eachother, we should probably make some more." He said with one of those famous Fang smirks that I missed so much. I simply smiled and took his hand.

**Now, Don't worry. I will be updating my other story ****Always**** tomorrow. For those of you who haven't read it, you so totally should! It's a Percy Jackson story and it is so freakin awesome, not to toot my horn or anything. Midterms are next week, so updating maybe a little slow. I also have a big math project due and stuff so yea!**

**Read, Review and Recommend!**

**-GabbyGonz**


	2. Hearts and Mistletoes?

**A/N: Hey! Happy MLK day! Off from school, yay! But tomorrow, it's back to the hellhole. Ugh… Well, let's not talk about my problems (because I do have many) Give my ideas for titles! This one sucks… (Story title, not chapter.)**

**-GabbyGonz**

**Disclaimer: I am not, under any circumstances, the author of this amazing book series. (James Patterson)**

**Max POV**

The flock came back just as we finished decorating the last cookie. Fang and I decided to keep our…relationship? Is that the word? No, that sounds too professional for two immature bird kids. How about…umm… you know, relationship isn't that bad.

Anyway, Fang and I decided to tell the flock after Ella's party, just to avoid and problems if there were negative reactions.

"We're back!" I heard Iggy yell from the main entrance. That meant Angel was back as well. Uh-oh, gonna have to keep my mind blocked.

"The place didn't explode. Good job guys!" Gazzy said. I smiled at him.

Meanwhile, Angel was walking in the house with 3 gigantic backs of decoration.

"A little help here?" She pleaded.

"Sorry Angel. You made a deal." Gazzy said, obviously satisfied. I raised an eyebrow at Iggy while trying to clean up the mess we had made. Even though he didn't see me do it, he probably knew I was doing it,

"We told Angel that she couldn't go one day without manipulating people into getting what she wanted. " Iggy explained

"And I said I could." Angel continued.

"But she couldn't so we made her carry the bags." Gazzy finished.

"So, sorry Angel, we can't help you." Iggy said with a smirk.

"I'm rolling my eyes Iggy." I said while doing exactly that.

I walked over to Angel and picked up the bags, handing one to Fang and the other to Iggy.

"Now, technically, you're taking the bag from me and not Angel." Iggy scowled, but took the bags to the living room. Fang followed.

"_Thanks Max!" _Angel whispered into my mind

"_No Problem." _I thought.

I took the other bag to the living room and checked the clock. 7 o clock, the party starts at 9!

"Fang, can you help them put the decorations up and I'll clean the kitchen?" I asked.

"Sure." He said.

"Whoa! Do we have a conversation coming along?" Iggy asked, perplexed. I punched him on the shoulder. "Ow!" I caught Fang's eye and without anyone noticing, I smiled. He smiled back. Ok, now I knew I wasn't dreaming.

I went to the kitchen and took out my phone. I sent Nudge a quick text message:

_How's it going?_

**Nudge POV**

"We've been here for an hour! Can we go home?" Ella pleaded. I was having a blast. We were at the biggest mall in Connecticut, looking for an outfit for Ella's party.

"No, we have to stay here until we find the perfect outfit." I told her. My phone vibrated in my pocket. I had about 10 different outfits in my hands. I dumped them all on Ella's lap, gesturing for her to go try them on.

When she was out of sight, I flipped open my phone to see the text.

_How's it going?_

It was from Max. I decided to call her back, because I couldn't fit all my words into fewer than 160 characters!

"Hello?" Max's voice answered the phone.

"Max, it's me."

"Oh. Hi Nudge. How's Ella holding up?" She asked.

"She's being so stubborn. I've picked out so many outfits and then I'm going to take her to do her hair and nails and makeup and get some accessories and-"

"Whoa! Nudge, just make sure she's here at 9:15." Max said, cutting me off.

"OK, got it. Ella is coming back, go to go." I said hanging up the phone.

"Nudge this is the last outfit I'm trying on!" She said.

"Ells you look awesome!" I said. She had on a dark pink tank top with black trimming, a pair of black skinny jeans. Simple, yet so perfectly coordinated!

I gestured for her to spin. I did that thing that you see Pizza Chefs do to their Pizzas. Like a kiss and the opening your hand.

"Can we go now?" Ella asked. We paid for the outfit and asked if we could leave with it on.

"Now, to the hair salon." I said pulling her after me. I think I heard her groan, put she would be so happy when I was done with her.

**Max POV**

I finished cleaning up the mess in the kitchen around 8. That's when Mom came home. I walked into the living room to greet her. The decorations were up. There were pink and red hearts everywhere along with a neon sign that said **HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELLA! **

I placed my present for Ella under the table. The whole flock's was down there too. I looked around the room. Gazzy and Iggy, putting up final decorations. Mom and Angel were setting cookies on the table. Fang was… Fang wasn't in the room.

I walked upstairs to his bedroom and knocked on the door.

"Fang? It's Max, open up." Fang opened the door and stepped outside.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Just wanted to let you know that everything's done downstairs, no thanks to you." I said, pretending to be angry.

"Hey, I put up the decorations." He said with a smirk.

"Yea? Like what?" I asked.

"Like this." He said, pulling mistletoe from behind his back.

"That's a Christmas decoration." I said.

"We can still make do of it." He said. He held it over our heads and tilted his head down to kiss me. I smiled against his lips.

I really did miss Fang, and I was so happy to have him back. And now, we were mending our relationship, step by step.

**Prepare for a conflict next chapter! I know exactly where this is going now, so yea!**


	3. Unexpected guest

**A/N: Not too much HW! So you know what that means…. UPLOADING TIME! This is probably going to be my last upload until mid next week. Sorry guys, MIDTERMS! Study… Study… Study! **

**-GabbyGonz**

**Disclaimer: I only own the plot of this story.**

**Max POV**

The guests began arriving at 9, but honestly, I wish they had never come. All I really wanted to do was kiss Fang- Whoa. Did I really just say that?

I wiped those messed up thoughts about Fang out of my head just as the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Angel announced, running towards the door. Her blue sweater dress was bouncing up and down as she ran down the stairs and flew (not literally) past the living room. Mom and Jeb had paid for ten of Ella's friends to fly over from Arizona for the party.

The first Guest was Ella's best friend Jessica and her sister Sofia, along with Jake and Mark, Ella's best guy friends. I walked up to the door.

"Thanks Angel." I thanked her and she walked away. "Come on in guys, Ells should be home in a little while." I shivered. The winter breeze left me frozen inside. More like frozen outside. I was wearing a simple white top with the word **LOVE **on it in big black letters. The shirt also had a tiny little bow on the top right corner. Along with that, I was wearing a pair of dark jeans and some converse. My hair, however, was a mess. I hadn't even bothered to comb through it, I just pulled up into a high ponytail and let it be. As you might've figured out, I'm not the kind of girl that takes too much time with appearance.

The doorbell rang five minutes after Jessica arrived, but this time Fang got it. About five other girls came rushing in, trying to get out of the cold. Guess they didn't have that in Arizona. One of them, a red hair, green eyes and fair skin, which looked like Christmas threw up on her, was eyeballing Fang. Guess they didn't teach you manners in Arizona either! I felt an emotion swell up inside of me that I hadn't felt for at least two years. Since Redheaded Wonder. I knew exactly what it was: Jealously. But why? I knew Fang loved me. I mean, he kissed me twice today! Once covered in flour and another under the mistletoe.

Thankfully, my phone's vibration snapped me back into reality. It was a text from Nudge.

_B there in 5 min._

"Attention!" I said standing up. All eyes turned towards me. "Ella will be here in 5 minutes, when I turn on the lights everyone yell 'surprise!' K? Now hide!" Everyone nodded and went to find a hiding place. I hid behind the main door, peering out the window. I heard Angel giggle.

"_Sssh!" _I thought. She quieted.

I heard the car pull into the driveway. Ella walked out in a new outfit; hair and make up done, looking nothing like the sleepy 15 year old who left the house against her will this morning.

Angel must've been sending my pictures into Iggy's brain because his mouth suddenly dropped open beside me. I held back laughter. Nudge looked spectacular as well. She was wearing a dark purple, knee height dress, hair and makeup done as well. Now I see Ella wasn't the only one who gained from the shopping trip.

Nudge was talking up a storm and Ella looked relieved to be home. I shut off the lights and waited for them to enter the house.

When the opened the door, I waited.

"Why is it so dark in here?" Ella said, reaching for the lights. At that moment, I flicked them on.

"Surprise!" Everyone jumped out and yelled. Iggy popped up from behind the chair, a little late and threw confetti all over the place. He walked up to Ella and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"Happy Birthday Ells." He said with a smile and wrapped an arm around her.

"Oh Guys, you shouldn't have!" Ella replied.

"But we did." I said and gave her a hug. Ella spotted her friends and went to go say Hi to them.

Meanwhile, Fang was manning the snack table. I walked over to him and gently slapped him on the back.

"Leave some for the guests." I said with a smile. I entwined my fingers with his and we sat on the couch. My favorite song came on the stereo. I quickly got up and started dancing. Not that I knew how to dance, I just did my own special Max dance.

Fang just looked at me like I was crazy, but I grabbed his hand and made him dance with me. Then, the song changed. I looked over to see who did it, ready to beat the crap at of them. Nudge. And she was looking at the pair of us with an evil smile. I'd have to get her later. It was a slow song. You know, the one's you actually have to know how to dance to dance to. Fang's hands rested on my hips and my found their way around his neck. I rested my chin on his shoulder.

We kind of just stood there, swaying from side to side. Thankfully the others didn't notice. The rest of the flock was to high on either sugar or happiness to notice anything. But, that happiness didn't last for long.

The doorbell rang and Nudge went to answer it, thinking it was another guest. She was wrong. Standing in front of her, were 3 Erasers. The biggest of the three stepped forward.

"You're having a party, and you didn't invite us?"

**Please don't hurt me! I know, I know, the cliffhanger. I'm about to go watch Glee so, sorry. I'll try to update as soon as possible.**


	4. Moving

**A/N: OMG! I'm back after like 4 weeks of not posting. I'm sorry! It's just that we started a new semester and had midterms! 7****th**** grade is harder than you think. 100% in Social Studies, 89% ELA, 96% Math, and 98% in Spanish! Bam =) I kinda suck at writing action parts, so please please don't judge me based on it!**

**-GabbyGonz**

**Max POV**

The biggest of the three kicked Nudge in the gut before I could stop him. She crumpled to the floor in an instance. But, they didn't get to hurt anyone else, because Fang was in front of them in a breeze. He kicked the leader smack in the face with his foot, but not before the leader punched him in the stomach. He yelled out in pain

"Fang!" I screamed as he, too, crumpled to the floor.

That was it, first you mess with my flock, and then you mess with my boyfriend? A burst of adrenaline rushed over me. The Erasers were already out the door running away. I guess they got my message. I was really angry. And when Max gets angry, you better be ready for the worst.

I ran after them on foot for about 30 seconds until I realized I had wings. I snapped out my 15-foot white and brown speckled wings. It felt so good, especially after being trapped under my shirt for about an hour.

Gazzy and Angel were behind me and from a distance; I could see Fang trying to get loose of Iggy's grip. I also saw Ella trying to calm all the guests. But, I left those things for them to deal with; my goal was the Erasers.

I looked back at Gazzy and Angel and gave them a quick signal. It was trick that we had been practicing forever since Fang and I learned it from the Eagles. Angel flew to the left, and Gazzy to the right used my hyper-speed and before I knew it, I was hovering above the Erasers in a clearing, them searching frantically for us. In front of me, I spotted Angel perched at the top of tree. She motioned her head towards the right, which I assumed meant Gazzy was perched in another tree in that direction.

I hovered in the air for a minute, waiting for just the right moment. When the first Eraser looked up, I dropped like an anvil. My foot collided with his face in an instant. I squealed in pain like a little girl before crippling to the floor unconscious.

At that moment, Gazzy and Angel too dropped like an anvil from the sky on to the faces of the other Erasers. When I knocked out the leader, the others 2 seemed to be lost.

The last one was out cold before I could say Mutant.

"Is everyone OK?" I asked Gazzy and Angel. Despite a few minor cuts and bruises, they seemed to be just fine.

"Yeah!" Gazzy said. "It was actually kinda fun. We haven't picked a fight with an eraser in like what? 2 years?"

"And that's what bothers me?" Angel said.

When we arrived back at the house, the guests were long gone. Probably back to their hotels to post their discoveries of bird-kids on Facebook. Mom and Jeb were home too. Mom was attending to Nudge's head injury, Ella and Iggy were quietly cleaning up the mess of the party, and Fang and Jeb were sitting worried on the couch.

"Thank Goodness you're OK!" Mom cried when we entered the living room. I smiled back at her and went to sit on the couch next to Fang.

"You OK?" I asked with worry, as I looked him up and down for any signs of major injuries.

"3 broken ribs." Mom interjected, "But nothing a few days of rest won't fix." She said with a smile. I kissed him gently on the cheek and ignored the stares of everyone else in the room. I honestly didn't care, as long as my family was safe.

My worst injury was a gash from an Eraser Claw on the side of my face, but that I could live with. I left Mom to attend to Gazzy and Angel's cuts while I talked to Jeb. We had to figure things out.

"What do we do know Jeb? Move again? I bet by tomorrow morning, everyone will know who and what we are." I asked with a tone of worry.

"Yes. The quickest solution would be to move. Maybe to New Mexico? Near where your mother and sister live, but far enough so that the information won't travel." Jeb suggested. Start a New life in New Mexico?

"I don't think that will cut it, Jeb." Fang said, voice groggy.

"What do you suggest we do then?" Jeb asked, with a tone a little harsher than necessary.

"We move, start a regular life, be regular kids, and act as if none of this had ever happened." Fang replied sternly.

The room was silent for a moment as we let that information sink in. A new life in New Mexico as normal kids? Well, this should be interesting.

"It's settled then! Start packing, we leave first thing tomorrow morning." Jeb announced.

Everyone exited the living room and rushed to their bedroom to pack for tomorrow's adventure. I leaned my head on Fang's shoulder, gently so I wouldn't hurt his ribs.

"A new life in New Mexico?" I whispered to him.

"Yeah. This is gonna be fun." He replied with a chuckle. "But no matter what, were all in this together." I looked up at him and smiled.

"Yeah. Through it all, taking it step by step." And I leaned in to kiss him gently on the lips.


	5. The Arrival

**A/N: OMG! I know, I know, I haven't updated in forever! But I am off from school this whole week, so I will try to get the next to chapters up ^_^. Bear with me though, finals are around the corner 3 and so is the school musical, and guitar lessons and my dog is sick (You get the pic) Love all my readers! Rate, Respond and Recommend!**

**-Gabby Gonz**

**Max POV**

I sat in the airplane chair, gripping the seat with dear life. My knuckles had turned white. Fang placed his hand on mine and looked at me reassuringly, I was so lucky to have him.

You're probably thinking, 'You have wings, why didn't you fly?' Well, Jeb didn't allow flying because he though it would "attract to much attention" and "normal kids don't fly". You know, all that crap. Anyways, I knew we were almost at the Albuquerque Airport.

"Here's the start of our 'normal' life." I whispered to Fang sarcastically and leaned my head on his shoulder.

"Same as saying 'here's the doorway to Hell.'" He scoffed. I chuckled sourly.

"Attention passengers, we will be landing in approximately 10 minutes." The pilot of our private jet said, conforming my thought. Nudge squealed in excitement in the chair behind me.

"Can you believe it Max? We are going to be NORMAL kids! OMG! We are gonna go to school and have friends an-." I turned around to see Iggy clamp his hand over her mouth.

"Thank the Lord for you Iggy!" Gazzy said from across the aisle. We all laughed. Maybe this wasn't going to be that bad after all.

If you have stuck with the Flock and I since the beginning of our adventures, you would know that the previous statement would be categorized as impossible.

…

Mom, Jeb, whom had flown to NM to make sure everything was settled, Fang and I, with the money left over from all the shows we did to save the world and stuff, we able to afford a 7 bedroom, 6 bathroom house on the outskirts of Albuquerque. We were about 20 minutes or so from the nearest Elementary/ Middle School and 15 minutes away from the nearest High School.

I was the first one off the plane. Gosh, I really hate planes. They remind of that horrid submarine we spent ages on. Yes, I said horrid. What? A 17-year-old, mutant bird kid can't look up words in a dictionary every once in a while? Any way, the minute I walked out the plane door, I was hit with a wave of heat. I quickly took in my outfit, which consisted of a turtleneck and combat boots, and decided that I was way to overdressed. The Flock was most likely overdressed as well, so I walked to the Airport gift shop and bought everyone some T-Shirts and caps. For me I picked out a simple green shirt, for Fang a dark blue, since black would attract so much heat, for Iggy a light blue one, for Nudge a, you guessed it, pink! For Gazzy an orange for, you know, explosions, and Angel a purple one. I was on my way to the bathroom when I bumped into someone in front of me.

"Hey watch where you're-" The guy trailed of when he turned around to face me. "Oh. Sorry." He said with a smile.

"Yeah, well next time, please keep your eyes on the road." I said with a smirk and began to walk away, when he stepped in front of me. He was pretty tall, almost as tall as Fang, and trust me, that's tall!

"I'm Leo." He said with a smile…again.

"Sarah." I said, quickly coming up with fake name. I tried to leave again, but Leo blocked my way again. Boy, was he persistent. But of course, being my savior, Fang showed up.

"We have been looking everywhere for you. Everyone is at the restaurant waiting." He said with his we-will-talk-about-this-later look and protectively wrapped his arm around my shoulders. Great way to make friends, huh?

…

When we arrived at the restaurant where to flock was, the table was stacked with food, along with some pretty nasty facial expressions from the neighboring tables. It was there that I realized just how hungry I was.

"Max!" Angel greeted me, with a mouth full of bacon and eggs. "Where were you?"

"Just getting some fresh air, sweetie." I lied, Fang scoffed behind me. I gave him my I'm-so-going-to-get-you-for-that-later-look and sat down next to Angel.

Jeb, whom had been checking our new house to make sure everything was set, arrived shortly after my arrival.

"Everything is set up at the house. I call you tomorrow to see how everyone has settled in. It's about an hour from here, so you are more than welcome to…you know." He did a flapping gesture with his arms so the other people in the restaurant wouldn't here the F-word. Gazzy put his fist in the air in celebration. I think we were all happy to be able to be back in the air, so we quickly finished our meals and blew that joint.

…

Jeb gave me the directions to the house, and I lead the way to our new home. The flock and I didn't rush to get there. I don't think any of us were all that eager to get to start our new life, all except Nudge. But lets face it, that girl gets excited over everything.

…

The minute we landed in a small valley behind the house, I reminded myself we needed to thank Jeb 1000000000 times! I'll sum it up in one word: Gigantic! There was a backyard, a pool, and so. Much. More! It was scary beautiful. Immediately, everyone went to check out the pool, Angel, then Nudge right behind her, finally Gazzy leading Iggy and describing the surroundings to him. Fang and I just kind of stayed gaping at the house until we realized that it was ours, like, ours, all ours. So, we walked hand in hand to survey the inside of our new home.

I was shocked when I walked in the door. Imagine this, like, Madonna's house, times 1000. That's how pretty our house was. I let go of Fang's hand and ran first to the kitchen, then to the living room, then to the 2 bedrooms on the first floor.

"Fang!" Look at this!" I called over to him. He quickly came over to one of the bedrooms. One other word: dark. Perfect for Fang. He looked over the room once and immediately yelled "Dibs!" and ran to the bed. I laughed and ran to the one next-door and gasped. It was the complete opposite of Fang's: light. It had a queen size bed to one side, a lightwood desk with a new laptop and a really big closet. It also had a big window and it's own bathroom. Fang's did too.

"Dibs!" I yelled and jumped on the bed! Next, I ran through the hallway and took a turn at what I thought lead to bathroom. But, I was mistaken, it lead directly to Fang's room. "Definitely not the bathroom." I said. Fang looked up and scoffed.

"I guess its going to take us all sometime to getting used to." He remarked, and nodded. I took him by the hand to go explore the rest of the house, when all hell broke loose.

…

No, don't worry. No Dr. God or Erasers or Flyboys. It was much worse; 4 mutant bird kids, racing to get the best rooms in the house. Since Fang and I had taken the 2 bottom bedrooms, the others were forced to go upstairs. It was fun to see Nudge and Angel walk past my room with shocked expressions, then to see how their face changed when they saw me unpacking. "Dibs." I told them, and they ran upstairs to go find another one. When the rest of the flock went upstairs, Fang and I walked into the kitchen in search of food. Since neither of us could cook, and Iggy was to busy in The War of the Rooms, Fang decided to go get some Chinese Food a couple of miles away.

…

It was 9:30 pm, and we sat in my new, awesome, totally cool, spectac-, sorry. The flock and I were sitting in my new _room_ on my new bed eating the Chinese Food Fang had brought home.

"Okay, guys" I began. "We start school tomorrow an-" I bunch of groans cut me off coming from everyone else in the flock except Nudge, what a coinkydink. "-and that means that we have to keep a low profile. And remember, don't get too attached, because we might have to flee any second." I said.

"Where to next? Freaking Mars?" Iggy asked.

"Still, we should set some ground rules. No manipulating people into getting what you want." I said firmly

"Cough, cough, Angel." Gazzy smirked. Angel blushed.

"No setting bombs of in class." I said.

"Couch, cough, Iggy." Gazzy mocked.

"But what if it-" Iggy began to protest.

"No. Bombs. We don't want people thinking we are some Alien Terrorists. Also, please, please, please, try to keep your gastrointestinal systems under control." I said.

"Cough, cough, GAZZY!" Fang, Nudge, Iggy and Angel yelled. We all burst into laughter.

...

That night, Fang and i stayed up watching a scary movie in his room. It had the biggest TV in the house. i had made some popcorn from the box that I had picked up on my trip to the store after dinner. I was sitting next to him on the bed and his arms were around my shoulders. My head was resting on his chest. I was really glad to have him back. He was my best friend and my soulmate. I looked up at him and just thanked the universe for what a perfect family I had. I don't remember falling asleep during the movie I woke up in the same spot the next morning. A quick glance at the clock told me it was 7 am, Monday. I kissed Fang lightly on the cheek to wake him up.

"Rise and shine, time get ready to go to hell." I said with a smirk, and went back to my room to get ready for school.


	6. First Day of School

**A/N: Oh my gosh guys, I'm so sorry I haven't updated in so long. Winter Break is coming up so I'm going to try to update as many chapters as possible. I am so excited to be up and running again, and I'm thinking about publishing some short Christmas stories. Thanks so much for the reviews (they make me feel all warm and fuzzy :3) Just a quick message, I began writing this before **_**Nevermore**_** came out, I guess it's taking place in between **_**Angel**_** and **_**Nevermore**_

I was ready in a flash. Teeth brushed, dressed, hair up in some type of ponytail. I checked the clock on my bedside table, 7:30. Great. School started at 8.

I walked back into the dining room to find the rest of the flock scarfing down Iggy's all you can eat buffet. Pancakes, bacon, eggs, bagels. You name, the flock has probably already eaten it. I grabbed a few waffles, chugged down a glass of OJ and shoved everyone out the door.

"Come on! We don't want to be late!" I yelled from the living room. One by one, the Flock came around the corner from the dining room. Angel, Gazzy (who had a mouth full of pancakes), Nudge, Iggy and finally, Fang. I grabbed the house keys from the table and locked the door behind me, dreading the moment I had to walk into an actual high school building and pretend I was a "normal" seventeen-year-old girl. _Yay. _

Anyway, I walked onto the front porch, and took in the day. The sun was out, the sky clear; it was the perfect day for flying. However, just as I was about to take off, I heard Angel scream.

"Erasers!" she cried. I quickly looked up. Nevertheless, our uninvited guests were back for an after party, but this time we were outnumbered.

"Positions!" Fang ordered.

We were in formation before you could say evil-flying-robots-that-are-out-to-kills-us. See? Mouth full. We were partnered up, Angel with Nudge, Gazzy with Iggy, and Fang with me.

Although there about 40 erasers versus six bird kids, with Fang by my side this time, I knew we would get through this. I jabbed the nearest eraser right in the face and I felt his nose break under my fist. He yelped out in pain and kneed me in the gut.

I drew a quick round house kick, aiming straight for the chest. He flew right into a nearby tree, and crumpled to the ground.

Behind me, Fang was taking on about three erasers at a time. I heard some pretty gruesome noises coming from the fight, but I couldn't help him right now. Out of all the flock members, Fang was the one I was least worried about. Angel and Nudge were taking on five erasers, Iggy had a deep gash on his neck, and was taking on the leader of the pack, and the last I saw of Gazzy was his failed attempt at using the patio set to knock out an Eraser. My flock was out practice, and we weren't going to hold out for much longer.

An Eraser came at me out of nowhere and I knew we were done for. It grabbed me by the neck, and lifted me at least three feet above the ground.

"Max!" I heard Fang yell from behind the eraser. He struggled against the ones he was fighting and tried to reach me, but they held him back.

I glanced around for the rest of my flock. Angel was perched on a low tree branch, hopelessly fending of an eraser twice her size. Apparently, they can climb now. Nudge was in a death hold, an eraser holding her by her arms, another gripping her head, ready to snap her neck. Iggy was blindly (literally) punching at everything, hitting whatever his fists came into contact with, whether that were to be a tree or an eraser.

You're probably thinking it couldn't get any worse. Well, you. are. mistaken. The minute I saw Fang's face loose color and Nudge gasp, I knew there was something behind me. Something bad. I held my breath. A figure emerged. It was… Gazzy. He looked untouched, unharmed, and weirdest of all, amused.

"Gazzy! Where have you been? If you were hiding I swe-." I stopped when I saw a second figure emerge next to Gazzy.

A wise woman once said, "Speak of the Devil and Devil shall appear." But, in this case, we didn't speak of him, we didn't even say his name. Emerging next to Gazzy was no other than the devil himself, Dylan.

**Dun Dun Dun! Major plot twist coming up. Hope this makes up for the lack of updating. Review, Rate, and Recommend. And if you're feeling super special, you can even favorite ;) Anyway, Love all of you guys, thanks so much for reading. I am so grateful for all of you 3 K. Bye!**


	7. Torn

**A/N: Hey hey hey, last chapter for 2012 **** This month also marks my one year anniversary on fan fiction. All my readers mean the world to me and I am so thankful to all of you who take time to read my stories. Thank you guys! Happy Holidays and 2013! This is going to be a fairly long chapter. Enjoy!**

If two, 300 pound erasers wouldn't have been holding me down, I probably would've- correction: I _**so **_would've squeezed the guts out of Dylan. Lucky for him, two, 300-pound erasers _were _holding me down.

I couldn't believe this guy. After months and months of worry, anger, and making us think he was dead, he had the audacity to show his face again.

"What do you want Dylan?" I asked, without making eye contact-at least not to him. I stared desperately at Fang. He knew the drill. "Why are you here?" I continued at Dylan, stalling.

"I'm here for the same reason and for the same thing for which I was created." He said with a smirk, the same smirk that had made me feel so secure, what felt like ages ago. "You." He finished. One nod at the Erasers and they released me, but not before they threw me forcefully towards the ground. I felt my nose hit the earth with a stomach-churning thud. It was broken, but what else was new. I spit and discreetly looked around me, searching for Fang. Of course, he wouldn't just leave, he was lurking in the shadows-I could sense it. _Any day now, Fang, _I thought.

Dylan gripped my wrist and yanked me up to face him. "Long time no see, Maxy." He said with a snarl. I still refused to make eye contact. But, being the stubborn person he was, Dylan just wouldn't go for that. He harshly grabbed my cheeks with his free hand and obligated my face to align with is. I finally looked into his eyes. The ones that had looked at me with such love months ago, now looked down at me with great hatred. "I missed you, Max." Dylan said so softly, that it almost made me feel sorry for him. _Almost._

"Can't say I feel the same." I spat.

In that moment, a little bit later than I had hoped, Fang appeared out of the shadows and violently swung at Dylan. Unfortunately, Dylan was always faster than Fang in battle. And from what it looked like, Dylan had been practicing. He thrust me to the ground…again. Geez. Thankfully, I landed on my butt this time.

Fang and Dylan were in battle. Actually, it was more like a war. It was as if all their anger and hatred towards the other was being poured out into the open, all into this battle, and I had a bad feeling on how it would end. But, I had to worry about the rest of my flock. Iggy, Angel, and Nudge were all tied to trees individually. Nudge was unconscious and had a deep and bleeding gash on her forehead. Iggy was attempting to escape and Angel just watched the figure that stood beside her with disgust and fear. That's right, my baby boy, Angel's own brother, had turned on us. Gazzy had betrayed his family.

Gazzy was keeping watch on the flock. He paced back and forth in front of them, not letting, a single one out of his sight. But, I still had to try to save my family. What was left of them, anyway.

I took off in the opposite direction, towards the woods behind our house, hoping the erasers would be smart enough to follow.

"She's getting away!" One doofus yelled. I heard loud, fast footsteps follow the cry.

"All of you go after her, I'll handle him." I heard Dylan command. I quickly looked back to see Fang clutching his arm on the ground, and Dylan inching towards him. I had to hurry.

As soon as I was out of sight of my pursuers, I spread out my wings and flew up into a nearby pine tree overlooking a small clearing. I perched on a branch in the center of the tree. It took about two minutes for all the erasers to gather in the clearing below me.

"Which way did she go?" One asked.

"She went this way." Another pointed straight ahead.

"No! She went this way." A third pointed to the right.

"Split up. Meet back at the house if you find the girl." The largest of the pack demanded. I assumed he was the leader.

All the Erasers took of in different directions. When I was positive that all of them were out of earshot, I descended from the tree and made my way back to the house, determined to save my family, and ready to knock the living daylights out of anybody who got in my way.

When I arrived back at the house, I hid behind the front porch, so that Dylan couldn't spot me. I was close enough to the trees were Angel, Nudge, and Iggy were tied, that I could reach them without making a sound…hopefully. I tiptoed towards them and after what seemed like years, but in reality was seconds, I reached Angel. Her eyes lit up at the sight of me, but I motioned for her to keep quiet. I crouched down and untied her, but she stayed in the exact same position, not wanting to make anything too obvious.

I was starting to feel a bit of hope, and was about to move on to untying Iggy, when a pair of ice-cold hands gripped my neck and started choking me. I don't think my career as a ninja is going to work out.

"Max!" Angel screamed reaching toward me, but Gazzy held her back.

"What do you think you're doing?" Dylan asked coldly. I couldn't think of a smart remark before he yanked me to my feet and pulled me away from my family.

He let my neck go and I fell to the ground, gasping for air. It seemed like I was ending up on the ground a lot recently.

"The almighty Maximum Ride" Dylan scoffed. "Look at you now. And that 'right-hand man' of yours, he needs a lot of work." He yelled in my face, getting too close for comfort. "Look around, Max." He said, yanking my hair back, forcing me to face my hurting family. Fang was covered in blood, mostly his own, and sat gripping his side on the ground. He looked more angered with himself than anything.

_It's going to be all right. I'll handle this. _I mind-messaged him.

The rest were still tied to the tree. Gazzy had retied Angel before she could do anything. It was a sight I couldn't bear to see. "Look at all the damage you caused, Max. Do you really want this for your family? Do you really want them to suffer because of you?" Each of Dylan's words pierced through me like bullets. "They can be spared, if you agree to my terms." I met Fang's eyes at that moment. They were yelling at me to stop. But I couldn't bear to see him, the boy I loved, get hurt because of me, not under my watch.

"I'm listening." I wheezed, still catching my breath.

"Very good." Dylan replied, obviously satisfied with him self. "You come with me to solitary confinement. Just us. No one else to bother us, to distract us, to interrupt us." I gagged in my mind. Oh gosh. "We create a whole new generation of mutants, raise them to be the strongest of them all and wipe out the inferior, human race. What do you say?" He said, stretching out a hand.

"No Max!" I heard Iggy yell from the trees. I took one more look around and contemplated my options. Either stay with my family, with Fang, my soul mate and best friend, and live a life on the run, risking my Flock's lives, or live with Dylan and guarantee my Family's safety.

"Do you promise my Family's immortality?" I asked him, staring into his eyes.

"They will not be harmed." Dylan said evenly.

"Do you promise?" I repeated. He hesitated.

"Yes. I promise." He replied. I merely nodded. Dylan smiled and helped me up. That last thing I remember whispering to my family was two simple words, as I was torn away from them forever:

_I'm sorry._

**Whaddya think? Hope you guys like it. Updating might be slow because of midterms coming up soon, but I'll try. Happy New Years guys :P **

**P.S. Changed my Pen Name to PrettyLittleKiller99. First to comment where I got the inspiration for the pen name from will get a shout out next chapter :D**

**xoxo - Gabi**


	8. My Turn

**A/N: I'm having serious writer's block, so I hope this pleases you guys. Sorry if it doesn't! .-. I'm trying. Hoping to update every 2-3 weeks 3 Might be publishing some short fics, instead of complete stories. **

Fang POV

Max is gone. _My_ Max is gone. I have always been considered "the rock" of the flock. I have always been the one the rest of my family turned to when their emotions got in the way, when they were vulnerable. That moment was completely different.

All I could do was watch as Max was led away from us; towards a descending helicopter that I'm sure was meant to take her back to the School, the place responsible for our childhood tortures and for our messed up lives. I couldn't even think about what they would do to her after that, what they would put her through. Just the mere thought of her and Dylan… in a nest… made me want to rip his freaking head off. But of course, since everything was going _just_ as planned, I was being held down by three erasers, with a broken wing, nose, and from what it felt like, a few broken ribs. I was helpless, I was useless, and I couldn't do anything thing, not one thing, to save the girl I loved.

The helicopter rose slowly of the ground, and I followed it with my eyes until I could no more. Then and only then, after what felt like ages, did our captivators let us go.

_Did they really think I would let them go that easy?_

From the minute the last Eraser released it's grip from my shoulders, I delivered several roundhouse kicks to it's chest. I couldn't stop. I need to take them down. I needed them to pay. I needed to feel like I actually tried to save her, not like I just gave up on her.

Once all three erasers were crumpled to the ground, unmoving, I slowly made my way towards Angel, Iggy and semi-conscious Nudge. I untied them swiftly and quickly. Iggy and I carried Nudge back to the house and laid her on the couch, as Angel followed behind quietly. We were all shell-shocked. Max was our leader, our foundation, or everything. We were sitting in out living room silently, as Iggy tended to Nudge's wounds, until Angel broke the silence.

"So what's the plan, Fang?" She asked.

"Plan?" I replied.

"To get Max back." She answered. Honestly, I really didn't know. I mean, my girlfriend was just abducted by her psychotic ex-boyfriend, Gazzy just betrayed us, and my world was pretty much just turned upside down and torn apart piece by piece.

"Fang?" Iggy asked, turning my attention back to the conversation. Two pairs of blue eyes stared back at me, and all I knew was I had some serious decisions to make and many questions to answer.

After what seemed like hours of apprehensively awaiting my response, Angel broke the silence for a second time.

"Fang! Snap out of it! I know you care for Max as much as we do and we just can't just sit here feeling sorry for ourselves. We have to act, and fast. We, of all people, know what Dylan and the School are capable of." She says reluctantly. I don't think I've ever had time to acknowledge what a beautiful young lady Angel is growing up to be. She's already extremely mature for her age and she's been through a lot more than most 40-year-old men have gone through in their entire lifetime.

"She's right Fang. Dylan and the School are bad news individually. Combined, who knows what they will be able to accomplish. We have to make some choices to make, and fast." Iggy added, just as Nudge began to gain conscience on the couch beside him.

"I have made them." I replied, my voice raspy from having been silent for so long. "I'll get Max, you stay here with the girls."

"But Fang!" Angel protested. I motioned for her to stop so I could continue.

"You guys have been through enough because of Dylan and the _others," _I spat at the mention of those horrible beings, "the majority of which happened while I was off being the biggest jerk I could be, wandering around the whole friggin' continent like a chicken with no head.

It's my turn to save her.

My turn to risk my life.

My turn, not your's." I finished. It was completely true. Ever since I had abandoned Max and the Flock, I could never wash away the guilt of throwing them under the bus and leaving them to fend for themselves. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to them on my watch. I was the one who need to save her.

It was turn to sacrifice.

My turn to risk.

My turn to kick some serious ass.

**Hope you enjoyed! Again, I hope to be updating every 2 weeks or so, probably on Fridays :P. Love you guys so much. **

**Favorite, Review, and Recommend 3**

** -Gabi xoxo**


	9. Lights Out

**A/N: Hey guys. School's been out since the 26****th**** of June and I just finished Summer Camp so I thought: Why not try to get a chapter up? Still having writer's block, but I have an idea for the next few chapters. How's your summer/ winter, depending on what hemisphere you are in, been so far? I'm going to stop with the "I'll update every 2 weeks" crap, because we all know that's not going to happen. I'll try to get a chapter up when I have time. Love you guys.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the main characters in this story. Those, unfortunately, belong to the lovely James Patterson.**

Max POV

I can tell you one thing: My helicopter ride was way worse than being thousands of feet underwater in a tiny submarine. You're probably thinking, but Max, you love flying. True, but I highly dislike being tied down to a freakishly hard metal chair, sitting next to the ex-boyfriend that is determined to have my little bird babies, despite the fact that I will kick the living daylights out of him if he tried, and train them to become a lethal group of mutants, out to destroy the entire human race in order to "purify" the planet.

I had no idea where they were taking me. At first I assumed the School, but from what I could tell, we weren't heading west at all. We had heading in the complete opposite direction for over two hours. I had been starting out the window for the whole trip, in attempt to avoid making conversation (or worse, eye contact) with Dylan. I could feel his eye burning holes in the back of my head.

"So the clouds are looking pretty nice, huh?" Dylan had always been the best conversation starter. I turned, stared at him aloofly, and returned to the window.

"You don't have to be like this." He continued, inching closer to me on the bench. I scooted closer to the window until I could no more, but her kept coming closer, until her was close enough that I could feel His breath on my neck.

He placed one hand on my shoulder.

"You and I both know that there's know way out of this one," he moved is hand from my shoulder and forced me to look him in the eye, "The mighty Maximum Ride. The world should see their hero now. "

He slowly began unbuttoning my shirt as he kissed my neck slowly. My hands were tied around my back, preventing me from resisting. But, unlucky for him, he forgot to tie my feet. I kneed him in the crotch and he immediately released me and fell to the ground in pain.

"The mighty pervert Dylan. The world would never want to see you again." I spat, kicking him in the head.

It was lights out for Dylan.

Fang POV

I didn't pack that much: mainly food, water, and my laptop. My blog had helped me find the Flock the last time and I was hoping it would help me find Max this time.

I left at dawn, in order to avoid waking Iggy and the girls. The last thing I wanted was to have to deal with emotional goodbyes and anything else that my make me change my mind. Except, nothing was going to change my mind. Max was my girlfriend, my soul mate, and my best friend. I would do anything and everything to save her because I know she would do the same for me.

I grabbed a map of California from the kitchen table, where I had left it the night before while attempting to pinpoint the exact location of the school. I left a note for the Flock and headed out the door.

I continued to the large, hidden field behind our New Mexico house and prepared for take off. As I jumped into the air, spread my wings, and began heading west, all I could think about was beating the shit out of Dylan.

It was lights out for Dylan.

**So for some reason I remember the School being in California, but I'm probably wrong, so let's just keep it that way for now. Hope you enjoyed it.**

**Read,**

**Review,**

**Favourite!**

**- xoxo Gabi**


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